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Cotton Bluff
YAfHigPsC_s Cotton Bluff is a town on the Mississippi River built atop the ruins of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The unofficial capital of the Klansmen Confederacy, Cotton Bluff once also served as the UCK's trade hub on the River, before most rafters stopped coming. History Pre-War Before the Great War, Vicksburg was a moderately large city in Mississippi, with its only notable distinction being the site of a Civil War battle and have a bridge crossing the Mississippi River. In the late 2070s, Vicksburg was also the location of an exclusive "personal vault" built by Senator and KKK member Robert Hendricks. The "personal vault" was supposedly built for Hendricks only, but his true plan was to gather other klansmen inside so they could retain organization after the inevitable nuclear confrontation. If Hendricks had done this a few years before, it would have sprouted a major scandal but by October 2077, most of the U.S. was beyond caring. An intrepid reporter from the Boston Bugle attempted to break the story on October 18, 2077, but that was overshadowed by the food riots. The Great War When the Great War began, a Chinese bomber was in fact assigned to target Vicksburg. That bomber went down over Arkansas due to a mechanical failure. However, the residents of Vicksburg did not know this and almost of all of the people in the city fled into the countryside. Most who remained in the city were later mutated in ghouls by residual radiation. Senator Hendricks and his Klan cadre hid inside their bunker when the first alert came on and remained there for five months. Post-War On February 20, 2078, the now Grand Wizard Robert Hendricks emerged from his bunker, along with the rest of his cronies. Together, they massacred the city's small ghoul population and replaced the courthouse's Amercian flag for a Klan flag. That was the day Vicksburg became the nucleus of the yet unborn Klansmen Confederacy. After the Klan initially claimed Vicksburg, the town became the centre of Klan activity, sending out Klan leaders to their respective chapters to rally them to Grand Wizard Hendricks. The process was slow, but the klansmen took Lincoln and Natchez in 2078 and more and more (white) survivors streamed into Vicksburg every day, seeking the nominal protection of the Klan. Although the 2080s were hard for Vicksburg and there were some cases of cannibalism, the city pulled through thanks to the effectiveness of the Klan militia. Farms began yielding harvests, and raiders attacks lessened. By 2100, river traders began coming down the Mississippi with some landing near Vicksburg. Most were alarmed by the Klan's racial bent and rudeness to outsiders, but some managed to strike up trade with the klansmen for their steady food supply. The people of Cotton Bluff felt the benefit of this trade and in 2108 lobbied for this trade to be officially sanctioned by the Grand Wizard. The then current one, Jason Bowie, readily accepted trade with rafters. For almost the next three quarters of a century, Vicksburg stood as the largest town in the Klansmen Confederacy. Rafters from the river brought wealth, and a plantation economy also began to spring up, providing commercial crops to companies like the Mississippi Traders Union and other parts of the UCK. The economy of the town remained unblemished, even after the Monroe Deal. This success had to come to an end sometime though. In 2198, a small flotilla of super mutants landed near Vicksburg, fleeing the campaigns of the Brotherhood of Steel to the north. Vicksburg's Klan militia confronted the super mutants but were handily defeated. From there, the super mutants sacked the city and drove the residents into the countryside. Taking refuge in Robert Hendricks' bunker, the super mutants hunkered down in the ruins of Vicksburg and made it their base. For the next fifteen years, Vicksburg lay in ruins and became a warzone between the Klansmen Confederacy and the super mutants. The only notable building to survive the super mutant occupation was the courthouse, which the mutants made an outpost. The town's original name was lost and it became known as Cotton Bluff. The klansmen took refuge on their plantations, plotting to take back their lost city. They tried to appeal to their allies in Natchez and Barnett to help them, but it was to no avail. To spite the other chapters, the klansmen of Vicksburg voted in their own Grand Wizards to oppose the ones elected from the UCK at large. Soon, the rest of the Confederacy just accepted it and tried to ignore the Vicksburg klansmen. In 2213, the Klansmen Confederacy finally pulled itself together and drove the super mutants out. The town was a wreck and had to be rebuilt. The next twenty years was spent rebuilding the town to be habitable once again. In time, trade from the river returned as well, and the town slowly began to grow again, gaining a population of over five hundred in 2220. However, Cotton Bluff's prosperity soon by threatened when in 2231 a Hill Klansman named Nathan Royce was elected Grand Wizard in the first unified election in half a century. The River Klansmen feared that Royce would try to wrestle away their trade rights but were astonished when Grand Wizard Royce, who wanted reconciliation between the chapters, actually moved his whole administration to Cotton Bluff. From then on, Cotton Bluff was considered the unofficial capital of the Klansmen Confederacy. Now the center of the UCK, both internal and external trade flowed through Cotton Bluff and the town not only grew but prospered. The Mississippi Traders Union returned as well. When Nathan Royce resigned as Grand Wizard in 2246, Franklin Reynolds, a native of Cotton Bluff, took over as Grand Wizard. A fervent expansionist, Reynolds exerted UCK dominance on the Mississippi River in a big way (Arkansas War of '50), upsetting many traders. Reynolds barred the MTU from the Confederacy in 2259 and after an attack from a foolish Gendarmerie, mined up an entire portion of the Mississippi River in 2260. Trade abruptly stopped. Even after the mines were removed in 2261, MTU traders and most rafters avoided Klan settlements, including Cotton Bluff. After the massive loss of trade, Cotton Bluff attempted to bring back the rafters. The klansmen of Cotton Bluff gave the traders of the MTU lavish gifts to bring them back, but the MTU refused to come back. Only a few independent rafters came to Cotton Bluff, too few to make the town prosper again. Cotton Bluff had to turn to other means to survive, farming in particular. So, the plantations of Cotton Bluff grew, and the town reverted to farming. Nonetheless, a small ammunition industry managed to spring up in Cotton Bluff in the 2260's, fueled by klansmen's firearm usage. The town has continued to loyally serve the Confederacy, sending klansmen to assist in the Crucifix War in 2270. Now, the town continues to try to bring the MTU back, sending gifts to New Memphis to bring them back. Even without trade though, it still gets by. Government The town democratically elects a mayor to manage the town's finances, but a Grand Titan is also elected to run the town's Klan militia. The chapter's Grand Dragon does have some sway within the town, as well as the Grand Wizard. Economy Although Cotton Bluff is known for its trade on the Mississippi River, the town now mostly relies on commercial agriculture for its wealth. Inside the town, other more manufacturing jobs are common. The light manufacturing in Cotton Bluff is mostly centered around ammunition production, sustaining the guns of the Klansmen Confederacy. Culture The culture of Cotton Bluff is one of politeness and nobility. River Klansmen, especially in Cotton Bluff, like to keep up the appearance of being southern gentry and offering a wealth of hospitality. Unfortunately, the Klan's presence makes the town hostile to minorities and sometimes, just outsiders in general. Category:Places Category:Mississippi Category:Communities